By Suzanne Hazlett, MBA, CIMA®, CFP®
January is nearly over, but the year has still just begun. Now is an excellent time to start if you have yet to try to whip your finances into shape. You don’t have to think of these as financial tasks as resolutions but more like a reboot to your yearly financial to-do list.
- Organize for tax time: Prepare for smooth filing: By mid-February, you should have tax forms in hand. Make sure to organize them in a dedicated spot and any receipts if you itemize. Talk to your advisor about coordinating with your tax professional to ensure all is in order.
- Get set for 65: This is the age you become eligible for Medicare; a 10% premium penalty applies for each year you go without Part B coverage beyond this birthday in most cases. You have seven months to enroll, starting three months before your birth month. Ask your advisor about healthcare planning resources that can guide you.
Become a benefits whiz: Research your company’s open enrollment schedule and decide whether to make changes. - Fine-tune your health spending: If you participate in a flexible spending account (FSA) or health savings account (HSA), review contribution levels to take full advantage – without exceeding limits, which are adjusted regularly for inflation. If you have an FSA, plan to use available funds before your plan’s use-it-or-lose-it deadline.
Finesse your bonus: Plan how to use your annual bonus before it hits your checking account. Consider paying down high-interest debt, shoring up your emergency fund, or increasing your 401(k) contribution. - Pay yourself first: Start now if you need to automate retirement contributions. It’s also a good time to reconfirm your employer match and increase your contributions to allow more time to generate tax-deferred gains.
- Revisit an IRA: Pre-tax contributions to IRAs can reduce taxable income. Roth IRAs might be the answer if you’re above the income threshold to make a tax-deductible traditional IRA contribution. You have until the tax-filing deadline (not including extensions) to contribute for the prior tax year.
Suzanne Hazlett, MBA, CIMA®, CFP®, is a Certified Investment Management Analyst® and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM professional. Investment advisory services are offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. Securities are offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. HAZLETT WEALTH MANAGEMENT, LLC is independent of Raymond James and is not a registered broker/dealer. 675 Sun Valley Road, Suite J1 + J2, Ketchum, Idaho, 83340 208.726.0605 HazlettWealthManagement.com